Predicting Metabolic Syndrome by Visceral Adiposity Index, Body Roundness Index and a Body Shape Index in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study from the Iranian RaNCD Cohort Data

BACKGROUND: The use of anthropometric indices is one of the new and low-cost diagnostic methods of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The present study aimed to determine optimal cutoff points for the visceral adiposity index (VAI), body roundness index (BRI), and a body shape index (ABSI) in the prediction of MetS. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 10,000 individuals aged from 35 to 65 years, recruited in Ravansar Non-Communicable Diseases (RaNCD) cohort study, in the west region of Iran, in 2019. MetS was defined according to International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess predictive anthropometric indices and determine optimal cutoff values. RESULTS: The optimal cutoff points for VAI were 4.11 (AUC: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.81–0.84) in men and 4.28 (AUC: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.85–0.87) in women to prediction of MetS. The optimal cutoff points for BRI were 4.75 (AUC: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.74–0.77) in men and 6.17 (AUC: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.61–0.64) in women to prediction of MetS. The optimal cutoff points for ABSI were 0.12 (AUC: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.47–0.51) in men and 0.13 (AUC: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.47–0.51) in women to prediction of MetS. The risk of MetS in men and women with a VAI higher than the optimal cutoff point was, respectively, 9.82 and 11.44 times higher than that in those with a VAI lower than the cutoff point. CONCLUSION: Although VAI might not be very cost-beneficial compared to IDF, our study showed VAI is a better predictor of MetS than BRI in adults. ABSI was not a suitable predictor for MetS.